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I have used my pasta boat six times since my last post about it. Five of the six times were within one week. Having pasta so readily available to me is probably not the most healthy thing. I had opened a jar of Alfredo sauce and just could not bring myself to throw it out. My mom has always been very strict about expiration dates–that sauce should stay in my fridge three to four days, tops. My dad on the other hand has used Miracle Whip months past the best if used by date because he just can’t eat a sandwich without it. I followed my dad’s example and ate it on the fifth day. Not quite as worrisome as months old mayonnaise, but my mom still would not approve. And I’m alive to tell the tale (while on that subject, nothing seems to have come from my possibly toxic bowl either).

Anyway, I thought I’d share how I eat my pasta in my dorm. My dad insisted that I didn’t need dry spices because 1. the jars of sauce are already seasoned and 2. I don’t have a stove, therefore they won’t have time to simmer. I said that I wanted them anyway because my palate is not sophisticated enough to notice the difference pre-simmer and post-simmer. I won.

The process is so simple that pictures really aren’t necessary. I just got a camera back though and I really wanted to take pictures. So here they are!

Pasta Boat Bow Tie with Creamy Tomato Sauce
(makes one generous serving)
What you need:
Pasta boat*
I cup farfalle (bow tie) pasta
1/3 cup red sauce (I use Ragu because it is smooth and what I ate growing up)
1/2 cup Alfredo sauce (I LOVE Classico Four Cheese Alfredo. You can use whatever brand you’d like though)
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic power
salt
pepper
handful of shredded mozzarella cheese (this was a last-minute decision and I forgot to take a picture of it)

My pasta boat!

The pasta was perfectly cooked after 18 minutes in the microwave. It was worth the wait.

Pour the sauces into the bowl. If you enjoy tomato sauce more than Alfredo, you can switch it up so there is more tomato sauce than Alfredo.

Stir the sauces together until the color is uniform and add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian spices, and oregano.

Stir the seasonings in completely and then top with shredded mozzarella. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, stir the cheese into the pasta, and then microwave for another 45 seconds to 1 minute.

The finished product. Absolutely delicious.

*I realized recently (read: right now) that I could probably boil pasta without the boat, i would just have a harder time straining it. I haven’t tested this because my bowls are not microwave safe, but I am going to try to get new ones over break to see. It takes 18 minutes for 1 cup of bow tie pasta to cook in the pasta boat, so I would assume it would be the same in any other bowl with the proper amount of water.

I love pasta. I could eat it every day for a week and not get tired of it. Whenever I want to cook a nice dinner, pasta is always my first option. I have over 50 macaroni and cheese recipes saved in my bookmarks. I have five pages worth of favorites on Food Gawker and a majority of them are pasta. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to make any pasta living in a dorm. It is one of the things I miss most from home. The dining hall’s pasta station only has good sauces once every few days.

So when I got my belated Valentines gift from my boyfriend over the weekend and it was a Pasta Boat, I was beyond excited. Sure, when we’d seen the commercial on TV and he told me I should buy it, I said no. I was skeptical and didn’t think I needed pasta that much.

I was wrong.

To be fair, I’ve only used this once so far. I cooked one serving of angel hair pasta in it today, and it worked perfectly. I accidentally left the lid on (I didn’t realize I was supposed to take it off until I watched the infomercial again) so the handles got pretty hot. My microwave is also a little small, so the Pasta Boat was not able to rotate all the way around. Other than that, it was as easy to use as the commercial makes it look.

I expected my pasta to be a clumpy mess when I took it out of the microwave, but instead it looked just like it does after cooking it in a pot. It takes anywhere from 13 to 18 minutes to cook the pasta in the microwave, but if you have the time, it is definitely worth it.

If you love pasta, and have some money to spare, I would definitely recommend buying a Pasta Boat.

Pasta Boat commercial

I didn’t realize how much time it took before making my pasta today, so I just covered mine in a canned tomato sauce and sprinkled salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning in with the sauce. It was much more satisfying than my usual Easy Mac lunch.

I will definitely be posting more recipes for the Pasta Boat in the upcoming weeks. It came with different recipes (including one for mac and cheese!) that looked interesting to me, so I want to try some of those out.